I took a break from my usual weekend classic car shows to do something a little different – a photo workshop. Workshops are great way for both professional and amateur photographers to try a different type of photography, recover from burnout, gain access to where you haven’t been able to, hang out with other photographers, and add new skills and experiences to their repertoire. For all of the above reasons, and most importantly to gain more experience shooting races, I signed up for the day-long Motorsports Photography Workshop at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut on September 29. With the workshop, you get a press-pass to shoot the Grand-Am Championships along with access to borrow and experiment with Nikon lenses that might not already be in your kit.
The workshop is set up as if you are shooting for an actual publication. You are given a list of necessary shots and specific teams to cover, including candids of the drivers of the teams assigned to you, autograph sessions, starting grid, panned shots, scenic, fans, pit stops… at a 1.5 mile track. It was a welcome challenge for me, considering all of my racing work has been limited to a 1/2 mile oval dirt track.
I was assigned to 01 Ganassi, 40 & 41 Dempsey, and 37 Mustang. I was very happy about all, especially the Mustang.
Setting the scene:
Fans:
Some racing shots:
Halfway through the second race, I was bored. I soon realized that this was a good thing, though, because it meant that all of the ordinary, standard, and expected shots were out of the way. I had my bearings and was finally in my comfort zone – and I could relax and have some fun with the shots.
I had a great time concentrating on the Mazdas for awhile , shooting them as they spit fire when they braked:
And some driver pics:
All in all a great day and fantastic experience. I can’t wait for the season to start again in the Northeast so I can get better at this! Two days later, I photographed the AIM/FXDD team in NYC and sold one of the shots to the Toronto Star/Wheels. Objective achieved – I learned a lot, gained valuable experience, and opened new doors.
So what would your ideal workshop be?
A full gallery of photographs from the Grand-Am Championship on September 29, 2012 available for purchase can be found here on SmugMug.